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This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.

Even though CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her statement resonated for a lot of people. It remains one of the outlets where you can find fact-based and mostly dependable reporting – especially during crises such as the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.

An Uncertain Position During a High-Stakes Battle

But CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a uncertain position as two huge media corporations battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.

Regardless of who wins, the fate of CNN has been drawn into a major game of business acquisition, instead of as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.

“Here is one more case of the deep structural problems with roots in many years of governmental choices,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.

The debate about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a larger point.

“It gets presented as a financial tale with influential figures as the main characters, but there is very little discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.

The Complicating Layer: Political Influence

The network's predicament is made more complex by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his chief “fake news” adversary.

Recall the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration's retaliatory withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in official meetings.

Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will shield him from negative coverage and examination. That is a factor in why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.

He has grounds to prefer that bidder more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.

Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that venerable news network.

A Future of More Turmoil

It is important to note, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a independent unit. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a safe harbor. That structure could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. The cycle continues.

If you ask Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is illegal, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should disallow both deals.

“Each proposed deal would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by the government,” Wu stated.

The Core Problem and a Way Ahead

Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the larger issue persists.

“What we have now is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we must resist the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this overly commercial monster, and revised policy decisions can fix it.

Will that happen in an era where the head of the FCC refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Overhaul is a distant prospect now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.

Policies that bolster independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, finance public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in very few hands are within reach – they are vital for a healthy democracy.

When it comes to media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations including CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the latest acquisition battle.